Possible breakthrough!

Hi everyone, for once my post is positive(although i don't want to get excited too soon)! After months of breast refusal, gulping and choking, my baby has finally nursed enthusiastically all day with no refusal! I am still doing 12hr blocks to help with OS/OALD and taking peppermint and sage. I think that I have, at last, Found a way to get my baby to feed on a full boob when i swap sides after 12hrs. It seems that if when I am due to swap, I put her on the emptier one(the one that she has been nursing on for the last 12hrs) just for about a minute and then swap her on to the bursting one she will feed! I think that the reason that she hasn't been coping with a full boob is because she sucks so strongly at the beginning of a feed, if I let her do that on the emptier one and then swap her she seems to cope really well and I don't need to hand express or even take her off during letdown. Just hope that my supply might regulate now. I am going the whole 12hr block without expressing(which is agony) but worth it if it works!

Re: Possible breakthrough!

That is wonderful!!!! Let us know how it goes. I know that when I had OS problems, I would think I had it tamed and then it would return, albeit not quite as bad as before. So just in case you have a setback, don't get too discouraged.

Re: Possible breakthrough!

Well we are still doing 12 hr blocks but sometimes about halfway through the block I have to put DD on the fuller side as she starts fussing until I do. I let her have as much as she wants from that side and then sometimes she goes back to the emptier side to fall asleep,but either way, I put her back on the side that she shoul be on for that block at the next feed. This seems to allow her to comfort if she wants, but if she fusses for the fuller side, I know that she is really hungry! She has nursed loads over the last few days and has been gaining loads of weight each day. Swapping sides after 12 hrs is still quite challenging as my let down is still really fast, but after 12 hrs, although I get full, I don't seem to get really engorged now. It is so nice to feel that my baby actually wants to nurse rather than feel like I am forcing her to do something that she hates! I still don't want to celebrate too soon, but Midwestmama, if you are reading this, there is hope. My baby has gone from howling refusal to constant enjoyable nursing! Perseverance pays! Finger crossed it continues!

Re: Possible breakthrough!

!2 hour blocks are EXTREMELY long, so I would definitely assume that as you get your OS under control, you'll want to shorten that length. It sounds like you've turned the corner! I agree with Mommal, too - getting bad oversupply under control can be a two-steps forward, one step back kind of thing. You have to keep tinkering with your block times and other techniques as time goes on.

You can call me JoMo!

Mom to baby boy Joe, born 5/4/09 and breastfed for more than two and a half years, and baby girl Maggie, born 7/9/12.

Re: Possible breakthrough!

Originally Posted by @llli*jah73

I still don't want to celebrate too soon, but Midwestmama, if you are reading this, there is hope. My baby has gone from howling refusal to constant enjoyable nursing! Perseverance pays! Finger crossed it continues!

I'm reading, mama! So happy for you!!! My LO is 10 days away from being 6 months old! It's been almost 4 long, hard months. I am so hopeful! My LO *did* actually nurse in the living room with her eyes open the other day randomly. And she's nursing with her eyes open at bedtime a little bit. And she has also popped off a few times to give me a sleepy smile and then re-latched herself too. All in our bedroom, in the dark, with the sound machine cranked.

How can we make sure this doesn't happen with subsequent babies?? It's agony!! Harder than anything I've ever done.

Re: Possible breakthrough!

That's fantastic midwestmama! My babe is still feeding well, no refusal but she is struggling before bed as I am really full, not engorged, but full after 12 hrs. She copes but gulps loads and takes in a lot of air, she is then really unsettled all night! So I think I am going to try and reduce the blocks, as I think that anyone would be full after 12hrs. Am going to aim to do 2 feeds on one side or until boob feels nice and soft and then swap next time. Am scared to change as I am just so glad that she is not refusing but we are getting hardly any sleep at night. Only other thought is that it could be her teeth keeping her up, but how do you know? Everything seems to say that 12 hrs is a long time and that it should not be a long term thing and my letdown must be a lot faster after being full for that long. I am just so worried that supply will go mad again and that she won't be able to cope with any of the feeds. She loves nursing at the moment, but will only nap for 30 mins and that is whilst nursing, I wonder if she is getting uncomfortable from the 2 really full feeds. But surely if a baby goes through the night your boobs would be full in the morning, so it is not really any different. I don't know, I am confused, just wish all of this was simple. I am not going to have any more babies as I could not go through this nightmare again!